Ragging is a form of abuse on newcomers to educational institutions. Some senior students force the unorganized newcomers to undergo several forms of mental, physical and sexual abuses and includes.
The juniors are usually too frightened to resist their organized group of tormentors. In recent times this practice has turned ugly. Every year number of cases of severe physical ragging as well as sexual abuses during the ragging. This has a great adverse psychological impact on the personality of the students and the scars of such incidents take a very long time to heal.
Ragging includes the following:
Any conduct whether by words spoken or written or by an act which has the effect of harassing, teasing, treating or handling with rudeness any other student, indulging in rowdy or undisciplined activities which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship or psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or a junior student or asking the students to do any act or perform something which such student will not in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or psyche of a fresher or a junior student. The conduct includes but is not restricted to any act by a senior student that prevents, disrupts or disturbs the regular academic activity of any other student or a fresher; exploiting the services of a fresher, or any other students for completing the academic tasks assigned to an individual or a group of students; any act of financial extortion or forceful expenditure burden put on a fresher or any other student by students; any act of physical abuse including all variants of it: sexual abuse, homosexual assaults, stripping, forcing obscene and lewd acts, gestures, causing bodily harm or any other danger to health or person; any act or abuse by spoken words, emails, post, public insults which would also include deriving perverted pleasure, “vicarious or sadistic thrill from activity or passively participating in the discomfiture to fresher or any other students; any act that affects the mental health and self-confidence of a fresher or any other student with or without an intent to derive a sadistic pleasure or showing off power, authority or superiority by a student over any fresher or any other student.
Punishable ingredients of Ragging:-
Measures for prohibition of ragging : –
The Medical/Dental College/Institution/ University shall strictly observe, the provisions of the Act of the Central Government and the State Governments, If any, or if enacted and/ or for the time being in force, considering ragging as a cognizable offence under the law at par with rape and other atrocities, against women and ill-treatment of persons belonging to the SC/ST and prohibiting ragging in all its forms in all institutions.
Ragging in all its forms shall be totally banned in the entire Medical/Dental College/ institution/University including its departments, constituent units, all its premises (academic, residential ,sports, canteen, etc) whether located within the campus or outside and in all means of transportation of students whether public or private.
The Medical/Dental College/Institution / University shall take strict action against those found guilty of ragging and/ or of abetting ragging.
Every institution shall have an Anti-Ragging Committee and an Anti -Ragging Squad All matters of discipline within teaching institutions must be resolved within the campus except those impinging on law and order or breach of peace or public tranquility, all of which should be dealt with under the penal laws of the land
The Medical / Dental College/Institution University shall arrange for regular and periodic psychological counseling and orientation for students (for freshers separately, as well as jointly with seniors) by professional counselors during the first three months of the new academic year. This shall be done at the institution and department/ course levels. Parents and teachers shall also be involved in such sessions.
Awardable Punishments
1. At the Medical/Dental College/ Institution level:
Depending upon the nature and gravity of the offence as established by the Anti-Ragging Committee of the institution, the possible punishments for those found guilty of ragging at the institution level shall be anyone or any combination of the following:
Secretary
Medical/Dental Council of India
Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Medical Colleges/Institutions by Medical Council of India
Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Dental Colleges/Institutions by Dental Council of India
